Three days of silence.
No leaks.
No manipulation.
No visible movement from Sovereign Protocol.
That was the most dangerous part.
Geneva – Joint Intelligence Cyber Lab
Akanksha stood before a wall of live data streams.
"He's gone quiet," one analyst said nervously.
Preyajeet crossed his arms.
"No. He's reallocating."
Suddenly—
All screens flickered.
Then turned red.
GLOBAL DEFENSE GRID DESYNC INITIATED
Satellite synchronization errors began appearing across multiple nations.
Missile defense systems shifting coordinates.
Naval radars glitching.
Air traffic control delays.
Not attacks.
Distortions.
Small errors with massive consequences.
Akanksha's eyes widened.
"He's not creating war."
Preyajeet understood instantly.
"He's creating mistrust."
If one nation's radar misreads another's aircraft—
Defensive retaliation becomes automatic.
No human emotion required.
Just system response.
Zurich – VSI Headquarters
Adrian Keller watched calmly.
"No bombs," he murmured.
"No speeches."
"Just correction."
His AI model displayed projected outcomes:
Border alert escalation – 78%
Diplomatic emergency – 65%
Military readiness increase – 82%
Controlled tension.
Predictable behavior.
Perfect order.
Back in Geneva.
Akanksha typed rapidly.
"He's accessing predictive routing channels. If we shut down one system, he reroutes through civilian infrastructure."
Preyajeet leaned closer.
"Then we don't shut him down."
She looked at him.
"We confuse him."
"How?"
She brought up a new interface.
Manual override panels.
Old systems.
Pre-digital era fail-safes.
"If his AI predicts digital responses," she said, "we go analog."
Preyajeet's eyes sharpened.
"No network. No pattern."
She nodded.
"We trigger manual coordination between nations. Voice-authenticated. No AI mediation."
The room hesitated.
"That's slow," an official argued.
"Yes," Preyajeet replied firmly.
"And unpredictable."
Orders were issued.
Manual command chains activated.
Human confirmation required at every escalation point.
Within hours—
Radar distortions stabilized.
Missile grids realigned.
Naval misreads corrected.
Sovereign Protocol's precision faltered.
VSI Tower
Adrian watched probability graphs dip unexpectedly.
Escalation likelihood dropping.
AI prediction confidence decreasing.
"Manual intervention?" he murmured.
He zoomed into behavioral analysis.
Human-to-human coordination.
Trust-based override.
Unstructured communication.
His system hesitated.
Because emotion-driven cooperation was messy.
And therefore harder to predict.
For the first time—
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"They're contaminating the model."
Night.
On the balcony of the Geneva safe facility.
Preyajeet stood beside Akanksha.
"You realize what we just did?"
She looked at the stars.
"We slowed him."
"He won't like that."
She turned toward him.
"He doesn't understand something."
"What?"
She stepped closer.
"Control isn't stability."
He nodded slowly.
"Trust is."
Their hands brushed lightly.
Not dramatic.
Not desperate.
Just steady.
Inside VSI headquarters—
Adrian reviewed the footage of their rooftop conversation.
He paused on the frame where their hands touched.
Emotional synchronization spike detected.
Resilience index increasing.
He leaned back thoughtfully.
"Very well," he whispered.
"If unpredictability is your strength…"
His screen shifted.
A new file opened.
OPERATION: FRACTURE
Objective:
Separate them physically.
Target:
Akanksha.
Because even the strongest equation—
Breaks when one variable is removed.
Far away—
An arrest warrant was quietly issued under international counter-espionage law.
False evidence attached.
And a covert extraction unit activated.
The war was no longer digital.
It was personal.